Tag Archives: Circumstances

What was written then is coming to pass, the back end of Johan Santana’s contract appears to be choking the Mets. It was widely written, by me and others, that six years is too long a deal for a pitcher who had already accumulated a lot of innings.

Santana’s velocity has been in decline, and now he faces shoulder surgery that ESPN is reporting could keep him out for up to two years. This is a tough surgery with a long and arduous rehab program. It won’t be easy for Santana and there are no guarantees on the back end.

That said, the Mets will likely come to regret the $77 million balance on the contract, but they knew going in that was a strong possibility for the final two years, OK, now it could be three.

The Mets overpaid because both the Red Sox and Yankees backed out, but the circumstances of the times must be realized. The Mets, having lost in 2006 and collapsed in 2007, were in dire need of starting pitching.

The Mets needed an ace and Santana came back to them, and Santana has pitched like the ace he was portrayed to be.

Where the Mets failed or miscalculated is not in signing Santana, but not giving him the adequate run support. Had Santana pitched for the Yankees instead of the Mets, with their superior run support and Mariano Rivera, he might have won a Cy Young or won 20 games.

Santana has more than carried his share of the load since coming here. Injuries are always a risk, but he has more than lived up to his end of the bargain.

To access the New Chat Room, click on to the Chat Room icon to the left. Enjoy Jon Niese as you channel surf to the NFL games.

All that talking about Jenrry Mejia needing minor league experience is probably going to wind up as lip service because the reports are he’s more than even money to go north.

In what role, the Mets won’t say, but Jerry Manuel said the eighth-inning role “will be by committee,’’ a situation that always works.

What the decision to bring Mejia up now is really one made out of desperation by men, who in order to survive in their jobs, have to be shortsighted. If the Mets don’t win out of the gate, Manuel will be gone and he’s banking on Mejia’s rocket arm to suddenly find command and maturity.

But, at the same time, Manuel is saying he doesn’t have faith in Mejia in certain circumstances.

If Mejia needs to be saved from pressure situations such as the eighth inning, then what would he be doing on the roster in the first place? We all know the outcome of a game could be decided in the sixth or seventh innings. (And, with the Mets starters it could happen anywhere in the first five.)

I’m not sure whether Mejia should be a starter or reliever, but whatever it is, they should make a decision and stick with it.

Apparently, the Mets are currently thinking bullpen, which is fine. If that is the case, then he should be here the entire season learning from Francisco Rodriguez. Give him one relief role and stick with it.

I don’t want to see him here in the pen, then sent back down to the minors to start, then come back at the end of the year and go back in the pen. If Mejia is as good as they say, he’ll adjust. But, waffling between roles can only deter his progress.

That the Mets are even considering Mejia for the pen right now is a clear sign they have little faith in who they have right now. Their priority in this case is to compete now and worry about the future later.

The Mets scheduled a telephone news conference for tomorrow to announce a new contract for general manager Omar Minaya. After Minaya, the Mets are then expected to finalize a contract for manager Jerry Manuel.

I’m sure plenty of you have thoughts on this, many of them heated as the Mets lost on the final day of the season for the second straight year.

This season brought several defining moments in Minaya’s career, beginning with the trade for two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins. Minaya also traded prospect Lastings Milledge to Washington for outfielder Ryan Church and catcher Brian Schneider.

The Mets, and Minaya, were criticized for their handling of Church’s concussion, and for circumstances surrounding the firing of manager Willie Randolph.

Minaya’s first order of business will be signing manager Jerry Manuel to an extension and patching a bullpen that blew 29 save opportunities.